MORE reasons why your headshots are no good

No matter how often I write about headshots, the same issue seems to come up again and again… glam shots. They’re no good, people! How many times do I have to tell you?

(It’s usually girls who are the culprits, but guys… you can learn something here too.)

Those fancy, professional-looking shoots, where you pretend you’re a model and you put on lots of makeup and pout at the camera… they suck. They’re no use to you.

Sure, they’re fun to do. They make you feel sexy and they get lots of likes on Facebook. Awesome. But as an actor, 99% of the time, they don’t represent YOU, the real you… so they’re pretty much worthless. Worse than worthless, they look pretty silly actually. Read More

HOW TO FACE YOUR FEARS AS AN ACTOR

21-3You are not for everyoneSeen this pic floating around the interwebs? Sounds like a nice idea, yes?

 

Yes. It is nice. It’s a nice idea for how to live your life. It’s also super useful for learning how to face your fears as an actor.

(FYI it is apparently an excerpt from Light is the New Black: A Guide to Answering Your Soul’s Callings and Working Your Light by Rebecca Campbell.)  Read More

6 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP YOUR DAY JOB

81We all want to make money doing what we love… and we all know that making money as an actor isn’t easy. Many actors aspire to being ‘career artists’ (someone who makes their income only in the arts), but I prefer to keep my day job.

If your life feels overwhelming and overloaded, maybe it’s worth examining whether you really need to be a full time actor right now. There’s no shame in having a secondary income, and it can be a plus in a lot of ways.

Here are some of the reasons I like to keep a second (or third!) job: Read More

THE #1 THING YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY ON SET

 

13 copyThis is one of the worst offences an actor can commit, but it is far, far too common. Maybe you’ve never done it, maybe you have, or maybe you’ve never given it much thought. If you’re in any doubt at all, here’s why you should never speak the dreaded phrase: Read More

3 steps to avoiding a quarter-life crisis

Recently I was listening to an episode of the podcast Acting Inspired and they were talking about getting to a certain age where you lose a bit of your mojo. This really resonated with me because I turned 30 last year and all around me were actors (and other artists – directors, designers, dancers) who were asking, Do I still want to do this? 

I want to be honest with you. There will be a point, probably in the few years after you hit 25, where you will have this experience – let’s call it a quarter-life crisis – where you lose your youthful spark and you question why you even wanted to work in the arts in the first place. I want to be honest with you about it, because I want you to understand what it’s really like in the arts – but I promise this is not just a whinge post. I have some concrete steps for you to take to avoid this, or help yourself out of it if you’re currently in the middle of it! Read More

Why you need to be a multi-skilled actor

During my first year of uni, we were lucky enough to be visited by a prominent Melbourne director. During our Q&A time with him, someone asked what actors could do to get ahead of the crowd. He answered, “Speak several languages, and take up horse-riding and fencing.” I think a few of my classmates thought this was a bit of a simplistic answer, but I appreciated his honesty. In a way, it’s reassuring to think that casting is just a numbers game – that if you have enough tools in your tool belt, eventually someone is going to hire you because you, unlike many others, have access to a specific combination of tools.

In reality, I’m not sure it’s that simple – there are certainly a number of other factors at play in every casting Read More

How to Stay Happy as an Artist

A few months ago I hit a bit of a low. I was exhausted and weary and seriously reconsidering whether I wanted to continue in the arts industry. To help myself recover, I reached out on Facebook to my artist friends to ask them, “What do you do to keep going in those low times?”

The arts in undoubtedly a challenging industry. Mostly I look back and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved… but my gosh some days you just need a hug.

If you’re in one of those slumps, I hope this list (compiled as a summary of my friends’ suggestions) gives you something to hold onto. Read More